I'm back from my weekend in Santa Barbara, and I thought I'd share some thoughts with you. What a beautiful town! And what a drive out to wine country! I'm used to the 10 minute drive to our wine country here in Temecula. I'm not sure how long it took to get out to the Santa Barbara County wine country, but I would say it was about 45 minutes from Santa Barbara proper. Well worth the drive, though.

I've decided that Santa Barbara goes more for the reds than the whites. I'm not saying their reds are better than their whites, but rather they have more offerings of red wines vs. white. One winery even had the gall to only offer ONE white wine, and then FIVE reds! ((scoff!))

[As a side note: Although I'm a lover of red wines, I've learned that I lose friends if I have more than one glass of red. Since I had my daughter, my alcohol tolerance has gone downhill. If I stick with whites, I can consume more and not lose face. So, I'm sticking mainly with the sissy whites, sorry my fellow wino friends.]

Unfortunately we couldn't find Au Bon Climat; and Babcock was off the beaten path from where my parents and brother desired to venture. We tried to go to Ballard for lunch (their menu online looks GREAT!), but their restaurant was closed until the evening. So, we flew by the cuff of our sleeve!

We started at Buttonwood. I was impressed by the first white (2002 Marsanne) and the first red (2001 Syrah) that I tried. The rest weren't as great as those. (Sorry I don't have more in depth tasting notes - I just let the complexities of the wine go through my mouth, decide if I like the taste and what it does for me, and that's about it.)

I forget the 2nd winery we went to - my brother took the literature from the trip, since he wants to take some of his friends soon, and he lives in Santa Barbara.

The 3rd winery we visited was (I can't believe that I'm admitting this) Firestone Vineyard. Yes, I admit, I watched "The Bachelor", and I really liked Andrew Firestone! (Laugh all you want!) So, I was interested in trying the wine there. And guess what? I actually did see Andrew there - he was outside talking with some people out on the grass!

I was actually impressed by Firestone's wines! What a great atmosphere too! I talked with the guy behind the counter as he poured each wine, and so when I was done with the listed pourings, he actually poured a few more wines for me - the higher end ones ($35 per bottle) which tasted great as well, but weren't on the tasting list. I'm learning to create conversation with them, because I get much better service (and information) when I do! :-) Anyways... I really liked their Riesling (2003) and Syrah (2001) - so I bought a case (my first case!), splitting it between the two. My mom really liked their Chardonnay - they said it had a buttery finish; I don't like butter in my wine.

The $7 tasting fee at Firestone included "free" tastings down the road at Curtis. So, we went to Curtis and thought their wine was fine, too. I didn't get any, though - I had already bought plenty that were better.

And I think that's about it. Compared to Temecula, Santa Barbara's wineries are more spread out (you have to drive farther to get to each one), but I would say that Santa Barbara has better wines AND more of a variety of wines (although they do lean more toward red wines).

If you go to Santa Barbara County for wine tasting, I recommend that you stop in Solvang (go to the visitor's center) for a wine country map - because without one I don't think you'd be able to find too many wineries! In Temecula you don't need a map - you just follow the signs, or just pull over as you see them off of the main strip.

Alright, thanks for entertaining me by reading this far. I hope that this helps others who are looking to go wine tasting on this great West coast! :-)

Nice notes, Liz. Sorry my recs didn't work out. Maybe you could have dinner at Ballard Inn on another trip.
P.S. I watched "The Bachelor" too and bought a Firestone Cabernet Sauvignon but haven't opened it yet.

IK, I think you're absolutely right about Firestone and the already-established money. They sure seem to be doing it right. Weird - in their wine club newsletter (yes, I signed up!) they referred to "Andrew's stint" as if it wasn't quite approved of, although they said it has brought in a younger clientel who before may not have been interested in wine. Yet I'll bet that "Andrew's stint" has sure made them a lot of revenue from all that advertising!

WW, that's interesting info about Sonoma & Napa compared to the other two. I'll have to remember that!

WoW, I definitely intend to go to Ballard Inn for dinner when I return to see my brother again in S.B. It sure impressed me when I looked up their menu online! And maybe we'll have more time on our hands so that we can find ABC and Babcock.